Harare, where to after the trees have gone?
After an inspiring meeting yesterday afternoon in which activism in its many flavours was discussed, I had the mojo to stop my car, get out and do some investigating into an issue that’s been burning my arse lately. Of course you will also have realised that countless trees are being cut down all over Harare. I’ve been wondering who is behind cutting them down. Vigilante woodcutters? The City of Harare goes income generating? Over reaching home owners?
At the corner of Enterprise and Ridgeway South some big trees that afford remarkable shade and at times, rain cover to pedestrians, walkers, runners and vendors are being felled. When I stopped and hauled my outrage out of my car and onto the street this morning I was told that the City of Harare had been requested by the occupants of number 2 Ridgeway South to remove the trees because they’re dangerous and pose a threat.
All well and good but a few questions come up:
a) When the trees are felled, they may be felled responsibly but the area that they are taken from is not restored and our streets are slowly becoming lined with ugly tree stumps. So who is responsibly for ‘making good’ the area, ie removing the stumps?
b) Which of course begs the question – why doesn’t the City of Harare in partnership with either local residents or organisations like E Africa, replant new indigenous trees so that Harare doesn’t become a treeless city?
My next step:
- Write to City of Harare and raise this issue with them (I’m crossing fingers I get a response – safer than holding my breath because I’m likely to Die waiting)
- Write to the occupant who asked for the trees to be removed to see if they are willing and able to become tree champions; replant whatever you take out or ask to be taken out.
-Write to E Africa and ask them if they have any replanting schemes to mitigate the current cutting down of trees.